Rise From the Humble

"What a pity. If you were on the same team as me, with Master Xiao Zhu's talent, the Master of Ceremony's Palm Seal would be in Master Xiao Zhu's pocket."

Under the hanging willows of the palace wall, Feng Bao, who was in gorgeous internal prison clothes, highly praised Zhu Ping'an's suggestions.

"Ahem." Zhu Pingan almost choked when he heard this. The Chief of Ceremonies was a eunuch, and he was not as interested in castrating himself to enter the palace as Wei Zhongxian.

"Haha, the Za family is no longer joking. It's a blessing for eunuchs like me that Mr. Xiao Zhu doesn't join our profession. Otherwise, we would have no way to survive." Feng Bao covered his lips with his hand and smiled, with bright eyes under his black eyebrows. Glowing like a small flame dancing in the dark night.

After listening to Zhu Pingan's suggestion, Feng Bao completely let go of the burden in his heart. The Sword of Damocles above his head was also wiped out. He felt extremely relaxed. After this incident, his relationship with Zhu Pingan became closer. , seemed to have become sworn friends, and couldn't help but joke with Zhu Pingan.

"My father-in-law is joking." Zhu Pingan shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Ping An is just a fluke."

"Master Xiao Zhu, there is no need to be modest. If it were not for Master Xiao Zhu's guidance today, the Zajia family would be dead soon. The Zajia family will never forget the grace of saving their lives, and the gratitude is beyond words. In short, whenever Mr. Xiao Zhu has something to do in the future, the Zajia family will never be embarrassed. Frown." After the joke, Feng Bao was full of gratitude, solemnly saluted again, and swore the oath from the bottom of his heart.

After bidding farewell to Feng Bao, who was grateful for his kindness, Zhu Pingan turned back to the Hanlin Academy. In the eyes of everyone in the Hanlin Academy who were gloating or sympathetic, Zhu Pingan greeted the Hanlin as usual and then went to the library.

When he came out of the library, Zhu Pingan brought two books, "Research on the Alien Tribes of the Northern Barbarians" and "Ora Food and Goods Records", and they were also registered on the borrowing list of the library. These were the books that Zhu Pingan had ordered before. The library management system, of course, must lead by example.

After leaving the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Pingan went to the restaurant where he and other Hanlin officials had gone before. He had a simple lunch and asked about the banquet. The shopkeeper gave him a discount, and Zhu Pingan paid with satisfaction. I paid a deposit of two taels of silver, and made a reservation for a banquet ten days later.

No matter how many people from the Hanlin Academy come to the banquet, the process still has to go. I started a family and started a business in Xiahe, so I had to host a banquet and let my colleagues know.

Zhu Pingan left the Hanlin Academy and detoured to Zhang Siwei's house through Zixuan Hutong, planning to briefly tell Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen about his visit to the Ministry of Punishment today. Zixuan Hutong is a very popular Hutong in Ming Dynasty at this time. The streets are wide and the shops on both sides are also large-scale. Many officials' families have properties on this street.

Daming has no urban management, and there are many peddlers along Zixuan Hutong, uncles who pick up goods shirtless, and old men who hawk, making the whole alley extremely lively.

The melons and fruits in May are fragrant, and watermelons, melons, and lychees are all on the market, not much later than modern times. Wild river freshness is rippling in the barrel, and farmer's snails are plump in May. Zhu Ping'an wants to buy some. Brought back to the Hou Mansion.

But thinking of staying in the Hou's mansion, and the Hou's mansion has rules for purchasing ingredients, that's all.

"Watermelon, sweet and big watermelon." A simply dressed old man on the street pulled a cart of watermelons and stopped not far from Zhu Pingan, shouting one after another.

Watermelon has become very common in the Ming Dynasty. Li Shizhen, who is still working in Taiyuan Hospital, later wrote when writing Compendium of Materia Medica: "According to Hu Qiao who obtained the melon seed in Huihe, it was named watermelon. Watermelon first entered China in the Five Dynasties; Today they are found in both the north and the south.”

Hearing the old man hawking watermelon, Zhu Ping'an felt very cordial. In modern times, watermelon is one of Zhu Ping'an's favorite fruits. In the hot summer dormitory, buy a watermelon, eat it with a spoon, and then soak it in a bowl of instant noodles. The watermelon absorbs the excess oil in the instant noodles, and the instant noodles absorb the sweetness of the watermelon. Add in the brewing time, and a portion The excellent watermelon instant noodles are an absolute delight.

The watermelons at this time are ten and a half days earlier than the normal watermelons on the market, and the price is relatively expensive. It is estimated that they are early-season watermelons grown with hot spring water.

When Zhu Ping'an walked to the old man's watermelon stall, many people had already gathered around the old man to ask about the price. At this time, ordinary watermelons were not yet on the market and were rare, so everyone was very interested.

"Hot spring watermelon costs six cents per catty, sweetness is guaranteed, and money will be refunded if it is not sweet." The old man is very confident in his own melons, and promises to the onlookers that they will not charge money if they are not sweet.

"Six articles?"

"It's so expensive, it's enough to buy three kilograms of peaches."

"The lychees shipped from the south are only five renminbi. The six renminbi a catty are almost as good as pork, forget it."

After hearing the price, the onlookers retreated one after another, thinking that the price was too expensive, and it was not worth buying at this time. If we wait another ten days or so, when the watermelons grown by melon farmers in the suburbs of Beijing are on the market, the price will be more than half cheaper.

It was better to wait a little longer or buy some other fruits, so everyone shook their heads and walked away.

Seeing that people were leaving one after another, the old man hurriedly stretched out his hand to persuade them to stay, but the effect was not great, people still shook their heads and left.

The uncle looked at the backs of everyone and sighed in frustration. He also pointed out that he could sell these watermelons at a good price and then ask for a wife for his son.

After discovering hot springs from the mountain last year, the old man was overjoyed. When he worked part-time at a noble family in Dongcheng District, he accidentally learned about the method of growing watermelons in hot springs from a steward. So, the old man bought an acre of abandoned sandy land at the foot of the mountain, and spent half the winter plowing the land and digging ditches with his sons, without even doing part-time work. He hoped to make more money by selling these watermelons that were put on the market in advance. The eldest son asks for a wife, then the second son next year, and then the younger son.

Fortunately, the watermelon cultivation was very successful. It ripened half a month earlier than other watermelons and tasted sweeter.

However, I encountered a problem when selling watermelons.

We started selling watermelons yesterday, and we pulled a whole cart of watermelons. Yesterday, we only sold five watermelons in one day. It was just for the sake of freshness. Today is not as good as yesterday. The place has been changed twice, but not a single watermelon has been sold.

"Old man, is this melon sweet?"

Just when the old man was feeling lost, he heard a young man's voice.

"Sweet, sweet," the old man replied repeatedly. He looked up and saw a young gentleman in official uniform, standing in front of the car and looking at him with a smile.

"Six cents per pound?" Zhu Pingan picked up a watermelon, knocked it, looked at the old man with a smile and asked.

"It's my blessing that the old man can take a fancy to the little old man's watermelon. He doesn't charge any money." Suddenly he saw Zhu Ping'an in official uniform. The old man selling melons had a reserved look on his face, and his hands and feet felt a little confused. How could I let go? I was so nervous and scared.

It is the survival instinct of ordinary people not to fight with officials.

Anyone who is an official is aloof, and it is not something ordinary people like them can afford to offend.

"Haha, if the melon is not sweet, I won't give it to you even if you ask me." Zhu Ping'an smiled, "If it is sweet, I won't lose a penny."

"Hehehe, it's sweet, it's sweet." Looking at Zhu Ping'an's gentle smile, the old man also grinned.

"Master Zhu, my master has invited me, and I would also like to ask you to show me your face upstairs."

While Zhu Pingan was picking melons, a boy suddenly came over, walked up to Zhu Pingan, pointed to the restaurant across the street and invited him.

oh?

When Zhu Pingan heard this, he looked up and saw a door opened in the private room on the second floor of the restaurant opposite, revealing a pretty face.